No Wonder There’s No Wonder

It’s no wonder there’s no wonder left in our normal lives today.

This may seem silly to you, but I have been very irked recently (if by “recently” I mean, oh, the last 5 years…) about something that in the scheme of things may seem rather trivial. But those 5 years ago, I was deep in the struggling-for-identity stages of the teenage years, and to add to the already tumultuous emotions stirring around inside was the fact that the holiday season, which once held such delight, now felt dead. Nothing special, no matter how much I wanted it to be, no matter how hard I cried into my pillow on December 24th because I’d just seen It’s A Wonderful Life and felt nothing. And it hurt. I was sure that it was just a facet of my growing up, the ultimate kick in the You’re-Not-A-Kid-Anymore pants, a cruel trick of the mind that was conspiring to make my life more miserable than it was. Teenage angst, anyone?

It wasn’t until not long ago, about a month, in fact, that I began to realize something. I almost typed “the truth” in place of “something” in the previous sentence, but as I’ve not tried this out yet, it’s hard to say what “the truth” really is. But I can tell you what I saw.

Picture this: Michaels craft store. Me, shopping for some inane thing or the other, wandering down the aisles of dusty fake flowers and picture frames. Middle of August. Got the picture?

Tell me, how do two full aisles of Christmas decorations fit into that picture?

Tell me how a drive home from work in the middle of September allows me to view the giant inflatable bat already hanging in someone’s front lawn in anticipation of Halloween.

Tell me why, exactly as the Christmas decorations go down do the Valentine’s Day things go up?

Doesn’t that seem a bit… wrong?

I remember when Christmas didn’t come until December. Now we have it in August. Is it any wonder we’re sick of it long before it gets here? Maybe my disillusionment wasn’t fate’s cruel kick in the pants, maybe it was the world’s cruel commercialism. Maybe the wonder isn’t lost, maybe it’s just squashed.

Maybe… if I avoid shopping… if I avoid the television… if I switch to iTunes when the radio starts playing Christmas hits 24/7 in November… if I keep my eyes on the road on my way home…

Could it come back?

Or am I Peter Pan-ing, clinging foolishly to my youth while the adult world whizzes by, staring?

I guess we’ll see, won’t we?

Why I Won't Be Denying the Truth

Freedom of religion. A basic right in the United States, correct? We hear it all the time: Coke cans celebrating Ramadan, Jehovah's Witnesses exempt from military service, an Atheist tree at Christmas time.

But more and more, freedom of religion seems instead to be more like "freedom of every religion except Christianity". Recently, a Christian at a gay event was ordered by police to remove his Christian-message t-shirt to "prevent a negative atmosphere". At the same event, two other Christians were threatened with arrest for distributing a Christian newsletter and for holding a sign stating that "Thousands of ex-homosexuals have experienced the life-changing love of Jesus Christ." One of the gentlemen was also told that he wasn't allowed to talk to anyone about the Bible (Cops, 2008).

Another high-profile debate in recent years has been the teaching of Creationism (politically corrected as "Intelligent Design") in public schools, as well as the issues of prayer in the classroom and religious symbols in public areas. Increasingly, the tide has been turning toward a secular world, a world in which Christianity and all that is to do with it are slowly crushed and vehemently opposed.

For those thinking that this is a new, unique development, however, it is not. If we study the history of philosophy, we can see that the course of popular thought has been in cyclical motion since the beginning of recorded time. The earliest peoples had gods and deep faith in them, but as civilization and technology grew more advanced, man's image of himself became dominant and mankind began to view itself as god. From Classical Humanism in the last centuries of Rome, to the Renaissance, to the Age of Enlightenment (also called the Age of Reason), mankind as a whole has turned its back on God, proclaiming to the world that "man is the measure of all" (Man, 2002; Matthews and Platt, 2008). It stands to reason that society is due for yet another round of popular atheism, wherein Christianity, God, and followers of Jesus Christ in America will be persecuted as we have never seen on American soil.

So what are we as Christians supposed to do during this approaching storm? Are we supposed to sit down and wait it out? No way. We are called to be lights in the darkness of this world, and we cannot shine if we are hidden in our closets or under our beds in fear. It is intensely difficult to make a stand when the winds of change are blowing the world around us into a hostile environment for Christians, but if we are to hold our heads high before God, we need to do our best to stand. Ephesians 6:13 tells us, "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." Basically: armor up, folks, it's time for a battle.

This is why I feel that bestselling Christian author Ted Dekker's new movement, Don't Deny the Truth, is such a wonderful thing. It's all about making a stand for freedom of religion (actually, for freedom of Christianity) and the freedom to express our Christianity in these troubled times. As America speeds farther and farther away from God and into the darkness ahead, it is crucial that we do not let our little flames get blown out. If we unite our little candles together, we can create a giant blaze to spread the light of Jesus Christ in our rapidly darkening world.

Sound good? You bet.

Check it out: http://www.dontdenythetruth.com/

I can't deny the truth. Can you?

References:

Cops Kill Free Speech at "Gay" Event. WorldNetDaily 22 Aug. 2008. Accessed 23 Aug. 2008 < fa="PAGE.view&pageId=">

"Man is the measure of all things." The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002. Bartleby.com. 2008. <>

Matthews, Roy T. and F. Dewitt Platt. The Western Humanities: Volume I: Beginnings Through the Renaissance. 6th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2008.

---. The Western Humanities: Volume II: The Renaissance to The Present. 6th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2008.